Garmin Fenix 6 Pro vs. Apple Watch Series 5 – Which One is Best Fitness Smartwatch?

Garmin Fenix 6 Pro vs. Apple Watch Series 5

Fitness enthusiasts have made fitness smartwatches a necessity for them. Now that there is a proper market for fitness smartwatches there are a lot of brands launching their products day by day. Two biggest names in the market Apple and Garmin are big players here. Both have launched their products and the new versions recently. Apple launching the Apple Watch Series 5 and Garmin Launched the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro. Both smartwatches have different features and abilities and are meant for different kinds of people with different mindsets.

Apple Watch is considered the best smartwatch in the greater sense as it is always leading in terms of features and design. The Apple Watch Series 5 is not a fitness smartwatch but a full-blown smartwatch with loads of functionality and super connectivity to other Apple products. It has been geared towards people who prefer an active lifestyle, let it be occasional jogs after work or even half marathon training.

Recently, Apple made great improvements within fitness tracking and targeted fitness enthusiasts more strongly with its latest iteration of the Apple Watch. Right now there is also a significant fitness section in the Watch branch of Apple’s App Store.

On the other hand, Garmin watches are held in high esteem among athletes. They come in many versions so, athletes of different abilities can pick one that suits their needs the most. They also have a lot in common with smartwatches, with features such as message and diary alerts. Certain models like the Fenix, also support music playback and contactless payments.

The Garmin Fenix 6 Pro is Garmin’s top multi-sport fitness watch. The watch not only picks up GPS signals quickly, but it holds on to the signal firmly as well.

So, we need to see is whether the Apple Watch Series 5 good enough for you to consider it as a multi-sport smartwatch, or Garmin is still the best athlete gadget? In this article, we will provide a broad comparison of both to help you make a choice between them.

Garmin Fenix 6 Pro vs Apple Watch Series 5

Garmin Fenix 6 Pro

1. Strong Body & Design

The body of Garmin Fenix 6 Pro is very solid and it’s Sapphire Glass is scratch proof. So, you won’t mind taking it to a rough mountain bike ride despite its high price.

Physical buttons on the Fenix 6 Pro make control easier when you’re on a run or even with gloves on. The Garmin Fenix 6 Pro is also waterproof to 10 ATM and also it can track heart rate underwater. Some people say that Apple Watch has the same feature but Apple never claimed it.

The Garmin Fenix 6 Pro is far more suitable than Apple Watch Series 5 for rugged adventuring and full-on workouts. The Apple Watch screen is better and more attractive for many smartwatch users but the Fenix’s transflective one comes into its own when you’re running, as it’s better suited to viewing in bright sunlight. It’s also not bad in low light either and there’s a backlight when it’s really dim.

2. Better Battery Life And Battery Management Options

Using the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro with GPS and music mode, the battery can last up to 10 hours. On the other hand, Apple Watch Series 5’s battery lasts up to 3 hours, only with that kind of use. On one charge, even without intense use, the Apple Watch Series 5 will only last 18 hours maximum, but the Fenix 6 Pro can last up to 14 days which is amazing. The Garmin Fenix 6 Pro will last up to a month and a half using the most extreme battery saving option. But there will be little precision in tracking in this mode.

The battery management options are also very versatile and brief on the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro. With one-button touch, you can manage different options at once.

3. Tracks More Sports-Related Health Metrics

The Apple Watch Series 5 has better tracking for the general health parameters, but the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro has more options for sport activity-related health metrics.

Some of the most amazing features of Garmin include PulseOx which is a monitoring system for blood oxygen. The Body Battery feature that measures your body’s energy levels and recommends training or rest accordingly. The Fenix can even adjust its readings to take into account the temperature and altitude at which you train.

The Garmin Fenix 6 Pro also tracks your heart rate and respiration rate continuously. So, as long as you are wearing the watch, it will monitor your health functions but you can also disable the feature to conserve battery.

4. Can Track More Sports Activities

The Apple Watch Series 5 can track up to 12 different fitness activities e-g walking, running, cycling and even HIIT training.

All these modes are pre-loaded on the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro. So, there is no need to search the Connect IQ app store for Garmin or third-party apps.

5. Built -in Golf Course And Ski Resort Maps

Garmin Fenix 6 Pro has almost all the great features you’ll find on Garmin’s Golf Watches which are well known in the market.

Maps for over 41,000 golf courses worldwide are on the watch. So, you can calculate the distance to the pin with ease and with club suggestions as well. There are also more than 2,000 ski resorts mapped on the Fenix 6 Pro.

Fenix 6 Pro has some other golf-specific features like button targeting and the PlaysLike Distance feature, which accounts for elevation changes on the course and shows an adjusted distance to the green. Whereas on the Apple Watch, these features can only be added via paid-for apps.

Apple Watch Series 5

1. Lighter & Better Display

The Garmin Fenix 6 Pro is 60 grams in weight while the Apple Watch Series 5 is 47.8 grams. The Apple Watch Series 5 is a bit over 12 grams lighter than the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro. That’s a 20% difference which can mean a lot especially when you are running. The thinner profile and the lighter construction makes the Watch bob less on your wrist, resulting in better heart-rate readings.

The physical dimensions of the screen are roughly the same but the Apple Watch is thinner. On the other hand, Apple Watch Series 5 beats Garmin Fenix 6 Pro in terms of screen resolution.

Screen Resolution:

Apple Watch Series 5: 448 x 368 pixels

Garmin Fenix 6 Pro: 260 x 260 pixels

2. More Apps To Customize The Watch

The Garmin Connect IQ Store has limited options and mainly focuses on different music streaming service apps and watch faces. This is partly because Garmin has already plundered Connect IQ to stuff the Fenix 6 Pro with pre-loaded sport, navigation and fitness apps by default.

In contrast, The Apple App Store is one of the biggest app stores in the world. It has plenty of apps specially customized for the Apple Watch Series 5. You can download a range of sports apps straight to the watch, including the Strava and Komoot.

3. Better Health Metrics

For people who are curious about their general wellbeing, the Apple Watch Series 5 is a serious choice. It has a range of health metrics and is able to analyze them in a way that suits health and fitness enthusiasts.

The Apple Watch Series 5 has a very accurate heart rate sensor. It is probably even better than the one used by Garmin.

Features such as the ECG monitor or the noise level detector can potentially identify health issues that you were not aware of before.

Apple has also gone a step forward for calculating calorie-burn estimates, which is one of the most important parts of wellness, for many people.

MyFitnessPal is used by many people. It is supported by both Apple and Garmin, but it’s more user-friendly on the Watch Series 5.

4. More Banks Support Apple Pay Than Garmin Pay

Apple Pay is supported by 40 UK banks, including all the major banks e-g American Express. On the other hand, Garmin Pay is supported by seven banks, with Santander being the only big name.

Both watches are NFC capable, so you can use them in shops to make contactless payments.

In shops with compatible readers, you can also use your Apple Watch Series 5 to pay much larger amounts, while the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro is capped at only £30.

5. Less Expensive

In the UK, the basic-level Apple Watch Series 5 with a smaller screen, no cellular option, and a basic strap, costs from £399. But even the quite basic Garmin Fenix 6S – which has a smaller screen, GPS but no maps, no Wi-Fi and no sapphire glass starts at £530.

When you get into the mid-to-upper ranges of both devices there are numerous variations of both devices. So, the prices do start to converge. But in the basic models, Apple Watch Series 5 is cheaper than the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro.

Conclusion

No doubt Apple Watch is a mouth watering tech gadget for its brilliant features and luxury touch. It is also very useful for people who care about their fitness. It’s better than the Garmin for doing basic tracking of your fitness and activities. As for the style, it has an edge over Garmin as an all-round watch.

On the other hand, Garmin Fenix 6 Pro is a great fitness gadget that also works as a smartwatch. The abundance of sensors, sports and fitness apps, the insights it provides and the ability to analyze in-depth via Garmin Connect makes it a much better choice over the Apple Watch Series 5 for serious fitness enthusiasts. Also, the useful buttons, rugged build and much longer battery life of the Fenix 6 Pro make it the superior fitness watch.

So, the final verdict of a better fitness smartwatch goes with the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro.

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